The 15 Best Business Books Of 2014

Virgin chair Richard Branson released his book "The Virgin Way" in September.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty
Whether you're looking for the perfect gift or to catch up on your reading, there were plenty of blockbuster business books in 2014.

We've collected our favorites of the year — from billionaire Richard Branson's leadership insights to media mogul Arianna Huffington's thoughts on success — which are guaranteed to not only educate but entertain.

Richard Branson is a self-made billionaire who dropped out of high school to pursue a life as an entrepreneur, and his Virgin Group conglomerate now includes airlines, a bank, and a new hotel line. Throughout all of the ups and downs in his 40-year career, Branson has never stopped remaining positive and fun-loving.

'The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers' by Ben Horowitz

Amazon

Before cofounding Andreessen Horowitz, a top Silicon Valley venture capital fund, Ben Horowitz helmed Opsware, a software management company that sold to HP for $1.6 billion in 2007.

All that experience is boiled down in "The Hard Thing About Hard Things."

"Hard things are hard because there are no easy answers or recipes," Horowitz writes. "They are hard because your emotions are at odds with your logic. They are hard because you don't know the answer and you cannot ask for help without showing weakness."

More than any other business book released this year, "Hard Things" gives an insider's perspective on what it's like to lead and scale a startup.

'How Google Works' by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg

Amazon

Google has long been regarded as one of the best companies to work for. If you've wondered how exactly Google is able to create a work environment that manages to be both fun and efficient, Google's former CEO and current chair Eric Schmidt and former SVP of products Jonathan Rosenberg break it down for you.

There are some great anecdotes in there, as well, such as the time Schmidt used his first day on the job as CEO to order the cluttered office space be cleaned up, leaving cofounder Larry Page confused and angry the next day (thankfully, the garbage collectors had yet to pick up anything set aside).

"You don't get taken seriously by asking someone to take you seriously," Amoruso writes. "You've got to show up and own it. If this is a man's world, who cares? I'm still really glad to be a girl in it."

Celebrity life coach Tony Robbins has spent the past 30 years reaching millions through his books, audio lessons, and presentations. His personal coaching clients include former president Bill Clinton and legendary investor Paul Tudor Jones, and it was partially his relationship with Jones that inspired him to write "Master the Game."

It's an introduction to the basics of investing as told through Robbins' signature inspirational voice. Robbins interviewed 50 of the world's top financial minds to gather advice that investors of any skill level could benefit from. The book includes insight from Ray Dalio, the billionaire manager of the world's largest hedge fund, and Carl Icahn, the billionaire activist investor whose decisions reverberate throughout Wall Street.

In "Think Like A Freak," the authors reveal the critical thinking tool set that led them on these adventures.

Thinking like a freak "means putting away your moral compass and not worrying about what the answer 'should' be, but focusing on what the answer really is," Levitt told us. "It means thinking hard about causality. It means going beyond the obvious to consider all the possibilities — but still being willing to accept the obvious."

'The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph' by Ryan Holiday

Amazon

Ryan Holiday's book is an engaging introduction to the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of Stoicism, as illustrated by anecdotes on historical figures like Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller.

Holiday uses these examples to show that Stoicism remains timeless not because it is a mindset that forces you to ignore your feelings in time of distress or tragedy, but rather allows you to control your emotions by acknowledging what you cannot change and determining a way to triumph over what you can.

'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' by Thomas Piketty

Amazon

As soon as the English translation of French economist Thomas Piketty's 700-page investigation of income inequality came out in March, it became a surprise New York Times bestseller and media staple for weeks, with passionate opinions for and against Piketty's conclusion that inequality levels are at dangerous levels around the world.

In a review on his blog, Bill Gates explains that "Capital" is far from perfect, but an important book that's worth reading. "The debate over wealth and inequality has generated a lot of partisan heat. I don't have a magic solution for that," Gates writes. "But I do know that, even with its flaws, Piketty's work contributes at least as much light as heat. And now I'm eager to see research that brings more light to this important topic."

Contently founder and author Shane Snow takes a look at recurring habits and mindsets of those who are able to rise to a high level of success in a remarkably short time.

Snow takes a look at examples like how Jimmy Fallon's accelerated path from sketch comic to "Tonight Show" host was largely due to exceptional relationship-building, how improv school Second City has consistently produced some of the world's funniest comedic actors through a rapid learning method, and how Elon Musk was able to convince others that pursuing a private space flight company with SpaceX wasn't insane.

Snow then lays out key takeaways from each of these stories so that you can be as efficient as possible in your daily work life and in achieving long-term goals.

'How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World' by Steven Johnson

Amazon

We usually think of history as a record of what people have done.

In "How We Got to Now," Steven Johnson takes the machine's view of cultural development.

The connections Johnson draws are astounding. We learn how the printing press led to the discovery of the cell (thanks to the profusion of lens-making), and we learn why Chicago can thank its growth to refrigerated rail cars (because otherwise meat wouldn't it make to the East Coast in a quality condition).

Johnson is a storyteller of the highest order, and in this book he tells the story of our most essential, civilization-shaping technologies.